Hitman Delayed To March 2016

Hitman has been delayed to March 2016, IO Interactive and Square Enix have announced. The game was originally scheduled to release this December.

Hitman will release in digital format with a limited amount of content, with the game receiving post-release free content updates throughout the year. With this in mind, IO Interactive decided to delay the game's release in order to deliver more content at launch.

"We're going for a new release model where we put out a good chunk of the game when it begins and then release the remaining locations over time," said IO Interactive. "These few extra months will mean we can add more to the launch content of the game, more than we had originally planned, and then follow with a tighter frequency of updates, which ultimately will create a better game for everyone."

Although some might think that this means that the game will be short, the developer has assured that Hitman will be a large game. IO Interactive used the Paris level as an example, explaining that it will be approximately six times the size of Streets of Hope, Hitman: Absolution's largest level.

"The playable area and density of our locations goes beyond anything we've built before. We're striving to create a series of living, breathing worlds in those locations and we get pretty obsessed about every detail that you'll experience.

"Moving a launch date is never an easy decision, we know it's frustrating to have to wait a bit longer for the game, but we truly believe it will mean we can deliver a better launch and overall experience."

A physical retail release of Hitman will be available once all post-release free content updates have been released.